Tuesday night on All In with Chris Hayes: In the wake of yesterday’s rampage at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard, people nationwide are pausing to honor and remember the victims. A moment of silence was held at the Washington Nationals game Tuesday afternoon, postponed from Monday night because of the shooting. Chris Hayes will explain how silence is often the way the public responds to a tragedy like the Navy Yard shooting, thanks in part to organizations like the NRA who wish to suppress any conversation about gun control. Pro-gun advocates succeeded last week in silencing two lawmakers who supported stricter gun control measures. These Colorado State senators, John Morse and Angela Giron, will join Hayes to talk about losing their positions in last Tuesday’s recall election.
Plus: Chris Hayes will discuss what we know so far about Aaron Alexis, the Navy Yard shooter. Some elements of Alexis’ background do not match the typical stereotype of the perpetrator of a mass shooting – he was a practicing Buddhist, for example, and had many friends. Alexis also had mental illness in common with other former shooters, but his case was different in that his illness was documented by police and doctors he came in contact with, but who apparently were unsuccessful in helping him. Hayes will discuss Alexis’ history with two of his friends, Kristi Suthamtewakul and Michael Ritrovato.
Hayes will also talk about how senseless violence is categorized differently depending on the circumstances. Events like mass shootings and tragic young deaths are often looked at as random tragedies which we mourn but don’t feel we can do anything to fix or prevent. Large-scale, dramatic events like the 9/11 terrorist attack, however, can serve as a call to action.
Later, Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed African-American teenager shot last year by a white man claiming self-defense under Stand Your Ground, will join the table to talk about her work fighting against the law. Bath was scheduled to speak before a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Tuesday, but the hearing was cancelled due to Monday’s shooting. Alex Wagner, host of MSNBC’s Now with Alex Wagner, and Maya Wiley, founder/president of the Center for Social Inclusion, will also join Hayes to talk about some of the latest news related to racially charged crime. In North Carolina this weekend, police shot and killed a black man who may have just been looking for help after a car accident. A new report released by the National Urban League also revealed that justifiable homicides have increased by 200% in Florida since Stand Your Ground laws were passed there.
Rachel Simon
Rachel Simon is a writer and editor based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of “Pickleball for All: Everything but the ‘Kitchen’ Sink.” Her work has been published in The New York Times, Glamour, Vulture, Teen Vogue and more. You can find her at @rsimon113.